Consecrator Track
"Oil? What do they think they're - AAAAHHHH! IT BURNS!!!" :- Unfortunate Noble Officer Tactical Analysis * Now all we need is a lit match: The Consecrator sprays oil onto enemies, soaking them in extremely flammable oil that, when an affected unit is subsequently targeted by a Talon flamethrower, results in an even more spectacular conflagration than usual. Or in layman's terms, more damage. * Dirty water: The Consecrator and its oil spray has a use at sea, too - submarines are blinded and forced to surface, while ships are slowed in the gooey mess. Amphibious infantry and animals, including dolphins, tend to die a messy death if caught in the oil slick. * Trailblazer: By reversing the oil spray and taking advantage of unsafe engineering, the Consecrator can lay down a trail of fire behind the vehicle to discourage pursuit or create brief barriers in the field. Theoretically, active use of this ability could even see a Consecrator crew gain veterancy. * Supporting unit only: As a result of their decidedly unsafe design, Consecrators are not at all durable, and barring their trail of fire and infantry at sea, cannot directly damage enemies on their own. The trail of fire is itself easily avoided, and won't bother tanks in any event. Consecrators are support units, and their threat is directly proportional to the other Talon forces with the machines. Background At times, military forces deployed at war have found themselves facing unexpected difficulties that don't leave room for an elegant solution, and the Order of the Talon is not immune to such developments. What would later be branded the Consecrator Track had its origins in such an incident. Shortly after the First World War, the Talon had tracked a group of its hated enemies to a fortified stronghold in England. The Order deployed a cell to eliminate the problem, but nature itself seemed bent on denying the Talon - England was drenched in a series of torrential downpours so fierce that many of the Talon's incendiary weapons found themselves doused or otherwise of only limited use. Cleric tracks were only of limited use against the Cult stronghold, in the eyes of the cell, while an infantry assault would demand unacceptable losses. The Talon warriors needed a way to use their flame weapons to effect in the most adverse conditions, and the solution they found was as crude as it was effective. The crusaders had captured the Cult's fuel reserves in a depot outside their base, and an innovative (and possibly insane) craftsman suggested a solution: attach one of the captured fuel tanks to a stripped-down Wraith mortar track, put the thing on a rotating dais, and hook up a large spray nozzle to the tank. Even if the environment was damp and soggy, oil seldom fails to be flammable. The resulting jury-rigged machine was volatile, slower than the original, put a massive strain on the engine, was crewed by a crew of lunatics who didn't mind the duty, and... effective. Anything covered by the oil would light up like a candle, even vehicles and bunkers usually boasting a resistance to flame damage. Cultists who tried to escape into the sea found themselves mired in minor oil spills, with rapidly fatal results. Another interesting development occurred when a group of cultists managed to get behind the machine, and the crew rotated the nozzle to spray the offending infantry - if nothing else, an oil spray would probably blind them. Instead, a great deal of the oil ran over the back half of the track, which included the perilously overcharged steam engine. The oil ignited immediately, resulting in a trail of fiery destruction stretching behind the machine. With the aid of this new weapon, the Cult stronghold was successfully purged. Afterwards, the Talon's smiths decided to formalize the vehicle and adding it to the Talon military worldwide. Dubbed the Consecrator, the machine otherwise saw remarkably few changes from the original improvised weapon. Its armour was reinforced, especially over the vulnerable oil tank, and a sluice channel added to the rear to channel the incendiary oil in a relatively controlled fashion, but the machine has otherwise survived today as much the same weapon. Crusaders have found its oil spray to also be useful for spreading oil slicks at sea that slow down surface vessels and force submarines to the surface, but by and large, its primary role is still dousing enemies in oil to ensure even more spectacular pyrotechnics than usual when Talon flame-based weaponry strikes the hapless foe. Category:Units